"You fall too fast, but you manage to understand
All these days, all your short life, you got used to dying.
Empire Guardian
At the distant junction of 2 worlds
Empire Guardian
Sentry of invisible posts
Guardian of the empire in darkness and fire
Year after year in the battles of the Holy War" (Aria. "Guardian of the Empire")

It is hard to disagree with this, but the above quote by the greatest Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, the author of such works as The Golden Temple, Patriotism, and others, after all, very accurately fits the image of kamikaze pilots. " Divine wind"- this is how this term is translated from Japanese. Last October, 70 years have passed since the first formation of military units of suicide pilots.

By that time, Japan was already hopelessly losing the war. The occupation of the Japanese islands by the Americans was approaching every day, less than a year remained before the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9), allegedly avenging Pearl Harbor, and today blaming Russia for this; say, the USSR was the first to test nuclear weapon to apply it on the Japanese. There is not a single documentary confirmation of this and never will be; even if they appear, they will be akin to freshly printed green candy wrappers that need to be burned as slander without any hesitation or hesitation. In a similar retaliation, I will gladly rewrite the course of the Battle of Midway in the right revisionist context, which was the turning point of the war in the Pacific theater of operations, or simply portray the Americans as the main aggressor and instigator of World War II; I do not hesitate to call them the aggressors of the war in the Pacific, which is more than fair. For there should never be any justification for the fact that, unlike the Japanese, the Pindos got up, capturing not only the territories controlled by Japan, but also turning the country into their own private springboard for attacking the USSR.

The history of kamikaze began at the end of October 1944. By that time, the Japanese still held the Philippines, but every day the Japanese forces were fading. The Japanese fleet by that time had completely lost its dominance at sea. On July 15, 1944, the US troops took the base of the Japanese army on the island of Saipan. As a result of this, long-range bomber aircraft of the United States had the opportunity to strike directly at the territory of Japan. After the fall of Saipan, the Japanese high command assumed that the next American target would be the capture of the Philippines, due to its strategic location between Japan and its seized oil sources in southeast Asia.

It immediately becomes obvious that one of the reasons for the defeat of Japan in World War II is oil. Even then, the Americans did not hide the fact that complete control over oil resources is the key to success in the struggle for world domination and Japan's resource famine was just an overture to a big cold diplomatic game, as a result of which the USSR would be destroyed, which happened in 1991. Both Japan and Russia, as the successor Soviet Union and even Korea have become victims of American military and diplomatic aggression. It is this tragedy that today should unite Russia not only with China, with which we are now building good-neighborly partnership relations, but also with Japan and Korea, which have been subjected to American fanaticism. After all, if Japan comes out in support of the peaceful reunification of Korea, then it can later reorient itself towards Beijing and Moscow, and this is the isolation of the United States in the North Pacific and the interception of the strategic initiative by Russia in the Pacific; in other words "pacifization" instead of "balkanization". If Hawaii also declares its independence and secedes from the United States, then this is already a Pacific collapse of America, which they will do their best to prevent.

On October 17, 1944, the American invaders began the battle in Leyte Gulf, attacking the island of Suluan, where the Japanese military base. Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi decided on the need to form squads of suicide pilots. At the briefing, he said: “I don’t think there is any other way to accomplish the task before us, except to bring down the Zero armed with a 250-kilogram bomb on an American aircraft carrier. If the pilot, seeing an enemy aircraft or ship, strains all his will and forces, will turn the plane into a part of itself - this is the most perfect weapon. And what greater glory can there be for a warrior than to give his life for the emperor and for the country?

Takijiro Onishi, father of the kamikaze

In addition to the resource, the Japanese also experienced a shortage of personnel. Aircraft losses were no less catastrophic and often irreparable. Japan was significantly inferior to the Americans in the air. One way or another, but the formation of air squadrons of death became, in fact, a gesture of desperation, a hope, if not to stop the advance of the Americans, then at least significantly slow down their progress. Vice Admiral Onishi and Commander of the Joint Fleet, Admiral Toyoda, knowing full well that the war had already been lost, in creating a suicide pilot corps, the calculation was made that the damage from kamikaze attacks inflicted on the American fleet would allow Japan to avoid unconditional surrender and make peace on a relatively acceptable conditions.

German Vice Admiral Helmut Geye once wrote: “It is possible that in our people there are a certain number of people who will not only declare their readiness to voluntarily go to death, but also find enough spiritual strength in themselves to really do it. But I have always believed and still believe that such feats cannot be performed by representatives of the white race. It happens, of course, that thousands of brave people in the heat of battle act without sparing their lives; this, no doubt, has often happened in the armies of all countries of the world. But for this or that person to voluntarily doom himself to certain death in advance, such a form of combat use of people is unlikely to become generally accepted among our peoples. The European simply does not have that religious fanaticism that would justify such exploits, the European is deprived of contempt for death and, consequently, for his own life ... ".

For Japanese warriors, brought up in the spirit of bushido, the main priority was to fulfill the order, even at the cost of their own lives. The only thing that distinguished kamikaze from ordinary Japanese soldiers was the almost complete lack of chances of surviving the mission.

The term "kamikaze" is directly related to the national religion of the Japanese - Shinto (Jap. "the way of the gods"), because the Japanese, as you know, are pagans. This word was called a hurricane, which twice - in 1274 and 1281, defeated the fleet of the Mongol conquerors off the coast of Japan. According to Japanese beliefs, the hurricane was sent by the thunder god Raijin and the wind god Fujin. Actually, thanks to Shintoism, a single Japanese nation was formed, this religion is the basis of Japanese national psychology. In accordance with it, the mikado (emperor) is the descendant of the spirits of the sky, and every Japanese is the descendant of less significant spirits. Therefore, for the Japanese, the emperor, due to his divine origin, is related to the whole people, acts as the head of the nation-family and as the main priest of Shinto. And it was considered important for every Japanese to be devoted above all to the emperor.

The Japanese were especially influenced by such currents as Zen Buddhism and Confucianism. Zen became the main religion of the samurai, who found in the meditation he used a way to fully reveal their inner capabilities; the principles of obedience and unconditional submission to the authority of filial piety, proclaimed by Confucianism, found fertile ground in Japanese society.

Samurai traditions said that life is not eternal, and the warrior had to die with a smile, rushing without fear into the accumulation of enemies, which was embodied in the spirit of kamikaze. The suicide pilots also had their own traditions. They wore the same uniform as regular pilots, the only difference was that each of the 7 buttons had 3 cherry blossoms stamped on them. An integral part was the symbolic headband of the hachimaki (the same was sometimes worn by regular pilots), which depicted either the solar disk of the hinomaru, or some mystical slogan was engraved on it. The most widespread was the slogan: "7 lives for the emperor."

Another tradition has become a sip of sake before takeoff. If you watched Pearl Harbor, you probably noticed that other pilots followed the same principle. Right on the airfield, they set the table with a white tablecloth - according to Japanese (and in general - East Asian) beliefs, this is a symbol of death. They filled cups with drink and offered them to each of the pilots lined up in line, setting off for the flight. Kamikaze accepted the cup with both hands, bowed low and took a sip.

In addition to a farewell sip of sake, the suicide pilot was given boxes of food (bento), with 8 rice balls (makizushi). Such boxes were originally issued to pilots who went on a long flight. But already in the Philippines they began to supply kamikazes. Firstly, because their last flight could become long and it was necessary to maintain forces. Secondly, for the pilot, who knew that he would not return from the flight, the box of food served as psychological support.

All the suicide bombers left in special small unpainted wooden caskets their nails and strands of their hair to send to their relatives, as each of the Japanese soldiers did.

Do you know the name Tome Torihama? She went down in history as "mother" or "aunt kamikaze". She worked at a diner where kamikazes came in a few minutes before departure. Hospitality Torihama-san was so wide that the pilots began to call her mother ( Dokko: but haha) or aunt ( Dokko: both-san). From 1929 until the end of her life, she lived in the village of Tiran (Chiran; not to be confused with the capital of Albania!); currently it is the city of Minamikyushu. When the American occupiers entered Chiran, she was at first shocked by the lack of manners (I will add that it is in the blood of all current and then Americans), but then she changed her anger to mercy and began to treat them in the same way as with kamikaze, and those in turn, the suicide pilots reciprocated.

Tome Torihama surrounded by kamikaze

Later, she will make efforts to preserve the memory of the heroes of the country. In 1955, Tome raised money to make a copy of the statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, which was installed in honor of the dead in a small temple near the Kamikaze Museum in Tirana.

Statue of the goddess Kannon in Wakayama

I will add that a well-known Japanese company Canon, to whom we owe the appearance of printers and printing devices, is named after this goddess. Goddess of Mercy.

On October 25, 1944, the first massive kamikaze attack against enemy aircraft carriers was carried out in Leyte Gulf. Having lost 17 aircraft, the Japanese managed to destroy one and damage six enemy aircraft carriers. It was an undoubted success for Onishi Takijiro's innovative tactics, especially considering that the day before Admiral Fukudome Shigeru's Second Air Fleet had lost 150 aircraft without success at all. The first Zero hit the stern of the USS Senty, killing 16 people in the explosion and starting a fire. A few minutes later, the aircraft carrier "Swany" was also put out of action. The fires that arose from a kamikaze hit on the deck of the escort aircraft carrier Saint Lo soon caused an arsenal detonation, as a result of which the ship was torn apart. 114 crew members were killed. In total, as a result of this attack, the Japanese sank one and disabled six aircraft carriers, losing 17 aircraft.

However, not all Japanese pilots shared this tactic, and there were exceptions. November 11, one of the American destroyers rescued Japanese kamikaze pilot. The pilot was part of the Second Air Fleet of Admiral Fukudome, deployed from Formosa on October 22 to participate in Operation Se-Go. He explained that upon arrival in the Philippines, there was no talk of suicide attacks. But on October 25, kamikaze groups began to hastily be created in the Second Air Fleet. Already on October 27, the commander of the squadron in which the pilot served announced to his subordinates that their unit was intended to carry out suicide attacks. The pilot himself thought the very idea of ​​such strikes was stupid. He had no intention of dying, and the pilot confessed in all sincerity that he had never felt the urge to commit suicide.

In the face of growing losses of bomber aircraft, the idea was born to attack American ships with fighters alone. The light Zero was not capable of lifting a heavy powerful bomb or torpedo, but could carry a 250-kilogram bomb. Of course, you cannot sink an aircraft carrier with one such bomb, but it was quite realistic to put it out of action for a long period. Enough to damage the flight deck.

Admiral Onishi came to the conclusion that 3 kamikaze aircraft and 2 escort fighters were a small group, and therefore quite mobile and optimal in composition. Escort fighters played an extremely important role. They had to repel the attacks of enemy interceptors until the kamikaze planes rushed to the target.

Due to the danger of being detected by radar or fighter aircraft from aircraft carriers, kamikaze pilots used 2 methods of reaching the target - flying at an extremely low altitude of 10-15 meters and at an extremely high altitude of 6-7 kilometers. Both methods required the proper qualification of pilots and reliable equipment.

However, in the future it was necessary to use any aircraft, including obsolete and training ones, and young and inexperienced replenishment went into the kamikaze pilots, who simply did not have time to train enough.

Initial success led to an immediate expansion of the program. Over the next few months, more than 2,000 aircraft made suicide attacks. New types of weapons were also developed, including Yokosuka MXY7 Oka manned cruise bombs, Kaiten manned torpedoes, and small explosive speedboats.

On October 29, kamikaze aircraft damaged the aircraft carriers Franklin (33 aircraft were destroyed on board the ship, 56 sailors died) and Bello Wood (92 killed, 44 wounded). On November 1, the destroyer Abner Reed was sunk, and 2 more destroyers were put out of action. On November 5, the aircraft carrier Lexington was damaged (41 people were killed, 126 were injured). On November 25, 4 more aircraft carriers were damaged.

On November 26, kamikazes attacked transports and cover ships in Leyte Gulf. The destroyer Cooper was sunk, the battleships Colorado, Maryland, the cruiser St. Louis and 4 more destroyers were damaged. In December, the destroyers Mahan, Ward, Lamson and 6 transports were sunk, several dozen ships were damaged. On January 3, 1945, a kamikaze hit on the aircraft carrier Ommani Bay caused a fire; soon, as a result of the detonation of ammunition, the ship exploded and sank, taking 95 sailors with it. On January 6, the battleships New Mexico and the resurrected California after Pearl Harbor were damaged.

In total, as a result of kamikaze actions in the battle for the Philippines, the Americans lost 2 aircraft carriers, 6 destroyers and 11 transports, 22 aircraft carriers, 5 battleships, 10 cruisers and 23 destroyers were damaged.

March 21, 1945 was first undertaken unsuccessful attempt use the Yokosuka MXY7 Oka manned projectile by the Thunder Gods squad. This aircraft was a rocket-powered craft designed specifically for kamikaze attacks and was equipped with a 1,200-kilogram bomb. During the attack, the Oka projectile was lifted into the air by a Mitsubishi G4M aircraft until it was within the radius of destruction. After undocking, the pilot in hover mode had to bring the plane as close as possible to the target, turn on the rocket engines and then ram the intended ship at great speed. Allied troops quickly learned to attack the Oka carrier before it could launch a projectile. The first successful use of Oka aircraft occurred on April 12, when a projectile piloted by 22-year-old Lieutenant Dohi Saburo sank the destroyer of the Mannert L. Abele radar patrol.

Yokosuka MXY7 Oka

But the greatest damage was caused by kamikaze in the battles for Okinawa. Of the 28 ships sunk by aircraft, kamikazes were sent to the bottom of 26. Of the 225 damaged ships, kamikazes damaged 164, including 27 aircraft carriers and several battleships and cruisers. 4 British aircraft carriers received 5 hits from kamikaze aircraft. In total, 1465 aircraft participated in the attacks.
On April 3, the USS Wake Island was put out of action. On April 6, along with the entire crew (94 people), the destroyer Bush was destroyed, into which 4 aircraft crashed. The destroyer Calhoun was also sunk. On April 7, the aircraft carrier Hancock was damaged, 20 aircraft were destroyed, 72 were killed and 82 people were injured.

USS Hancock after a kamikaze attack

Until April 16, another destroyer was sunk, 3 aircraft carriers, a battleship and 9 destroyers were put out of action. On May 4, the Sangamon aircraft carrier with 21 aircraft on board burned down completely. On May 11, hit by two kamikazes caused a fire on the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill, in which 80 aircraft were destroyed, 391 people were killed and 264 were injured.

Fire on USS Bunker Hill

Kiyoshi Ogawa, the kamikaze who rammed the Bunker Hill

By the end of the battle for Okinawa, the American fleet had lost 26 ships, 225 were damaged, including 27 aircraft carriers.

The Thunder Gods Corps suffered heavy losses. Of the 185 Oka planes used for the attacks, 118 were destroyed by the enemy, 438 pilots were killed, including 56 "gods of thunder" and 372 crew members of carrier aircraft. The last ship lost by the United States in the Pacific War was the destroyer Callaghan. In the Okinawa area on July 29, 1945, using the darkness of the night, the old low-speed Aichi D2A training biplane with a 60-kilogram bomb at 0-41 managed to break through to the Callaghan and ram it. The blow fell on the captain's bridge. A fire broke out, which led to the explosion of ammunition in the cellar. The crew left the sinking ship. 47 sailors were killed, 73 people were injured.

By the end of World War II, 2,525 kamikaze pilots were trained by Japanese naval aviation, and the army provided another 1,387. According to Japanese statements, 81 ships were sunk and 195 damaged as a result of kamikaze attacks. According to American data, the losses amounted to 34 sunk and 288 damaged ships. Besides, great importance It also had a psychological effect on American sailors.

Japanese aviation never had a problem with a shortage of kamikaze pilots, on the contrary, there were three times more volunteers than aircraft. The bulk of the suicide bombers were twenty-year-old university students, the reasons for joining the suicide squads ranged from patriotism to the desire to glorify their family. And yet, the underlying causes of this phenomenon lie in the very culture of Japan, in the traditions of bushido and medieval samurai. A huge role in this phenomenon is also played by the special attitude of the Japanese towards death. To die with honor for their country and for the Emperor was the highest goal for many young Japanese of that time. Kamikazes were extolled as heroes, they were prayed for in temples as saints, their relatives immediately became the most respected people in their city.

Known kamikaze

Matome Ugaki - Vice Admiral, Commander of the 5th Air Fleet of the Japanese Navy. He made a sortie to the Okinawa region with a kamikaze mission on August 15, 1945 as part of a group of 7 aircraft belonging to the 701st air group. Died.

Ugaki Matome

Seki, Yukio - lieutenant, graduate of the Naval Academy. Not sharing the views of the command on the tactics of "kamikaze" obeyed the order and led the first special strike force. He made a sortie from the Mabalacat airbase to Leyte Gulf with a "kamikaze" mission on October 25, 1944, leading a group of 5 aircraft belonging to the 201st Air Corps. The aircraft carrier "Saint-Lo" was destroyed by a ram. Died. Other members of the group disabled the Kalinin Bey aircraft carrier, and 2 more were damaged. The first successful kamikaze attack.

Yukio Seki

It is interesting that the kamikaze sang before the flight famous song"Umi Yukaba".

Original:

海行かば (Umi yukaba)
水漬く屍 (Mizuku kabane)
山行かば (Yama yukaba)
草生す屍 (Kusa musu kabane)
大君の (O: kimi no)
辺にこそ死なめ (He ni koso siname)
かへり見はせじ (Kaerimi wa sedzi)

or option:

長閑には死なじ (Nodo ni wa sinadzi)

Translation:

If we go by sea
Let the sea swallow us
If we leave the mountain,
May the grass cover us.
O great sovereign,
We will die at your feet
Let's not look back.

The shock of the Anglo-Saxons was so serious that the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz, suggested that information about kamikaze attacks be kept secret. American military censorship placed severe restrictions on the dissemination of reports of suicide pilot attacks. The British allies also did not spread the word about the kamikaze until the end of the war.

It should be noted that in hopeless situations, in the heat of battle, fire rams were made by pilots from many countries. But no one, except the Japanese, did not rely on suicidal attacks.

Kantaro Suzuki, Prime Minister of Japan during the war. Replaced Hiroshi Oshima at this post

The former Prime Minister of Japan, Admiral Kantaro Suzuki himself, who more than once looked death in the eye, assessed the kamikaze and their tactics as follows: “The spirit and exploits of the kamikaze pilots, of course, cause deep admiration. But this tactic, viewed from the point of view of strategy, is defeatist. A responsible commander would never resort to such emergency measures. Kamikaze attacks are clear evidence of our fear of inevitable defeat when there were no other options to change the course of the war. The air operations that we began to conduct in the Philippines did not leave any opportunity to survive. After the death of experienced pilots, less experienced and, in the end, those who had no training at all, had to be thrown into suicidal attacks.

Memory

On "civilized" Western world, first of all, in the USA and Britain, kamikazes are slinged in every possible way. The Americans wrote them down on a par with the perpetrators of the September 11 terrorists, and this has long been no secret to anyone. This is another proof that the United States is a soulless and sick society, as Yevgeny Viktorovich Novikov rightly noted, in every possible way denigrating the memory of those who yesterday contributed to the liberation of the planet from American capitalist globalism. In Japan, thanks to the efforts of the same "mother kamikaze" Tome Torihama, a museum was opened, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Tirana Kamikaze Museum, Minamikyushu. Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan

The museum displays photographs, personal items, and the last letters of 1,036 Army pilots, including an old school piano that two pilots played " moonlight sonata” the day before departure, as well as 4 aircraft whose models were used in kamikaze attacks: Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien, Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate and the heavily damaged and rusted Mitsubishi A6M Zero ”, raised from the bottom of the sea in 1980. In addition, the museum displays several short videos made from wartime photos and videos, as well as a 30-minute film dedicated to the last letters of the pilots.

Next to the museum is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the goddess of mercy Kannon. There is a small replica of the Yumechigai Kannon (Dream-Changing Kannon) statue at Horyu-ji Temple in Nara. Donations for its installation were collected by the "mother kamikaze" Tome Torihama, the owner of a diner in Tirana that served military pilots. Inside the replica is a scroll with the names of the dead pilots. Along the road leading to the museum, there are stone toro lanterns with stylized images of kamikaze carved on them.

The materials exhibited in the museum present the dead pilots in a very positive light, portraying them as young brave men who voluntarily sacrificed themselves out of love for their homeland, but this only applies to army pilots: there are very few references to naval aviation pilots, who were more among the kamikazes. In addition, the museum only counts those who died in battles near Okinawa, while several hundred army kamikazes died in the Philippines and other places.

Interestingly, the “failed kamikaze” Tadamasa Itatsu became the 1st director, who survived due to the fact that all sorties in which he took or should have taken part ended unsuccessfully.

At the end of my story, I want to ask one question: so, are kamikazes the same war criminals who need to be mixed with mud and judged? Nothing like this: kamikaze is an example of the heroism of the emperor's warriors, Yamato warriors, warriors of their country. By their mortal exploits, they proved that their conscience and soul are pure and blameless, unlike those who bombed them at the beginning of August 45th.

Glory to you, Heroes of Yamato! Death to the invaders!

Mini gallery

Attack on USS Columbia

A military secret. When will the collapse of the American Empire begin?(the beginning of the story about kamikaze from the 47th minute):

Aria. Empire Guardian:

On October 15, 1944, a fighter aircraft took off from a small military airfield in the Philippines. He did not return to base. Yes, however, no one expected his return: after all, he was piloted by the first suicide pilot (kamikaze) Rear Admiral Arima, commander of the 26th air flotilla.
Young officers tried to dissuade the rear admiral from participating in the deadly flight. But he tore off the insignia from his uniform and boarded the plane. Ironically, Arima failed to complete the task. He missed and crashed into the waves of the sea, not reaching the goal of the American ship. Thus began one of the darkest combat campaigns of World War II in the Pacific.

By the end of 1944, the Japanese fleet, having suffered several defeats, was a pitiful shadow of the formidable imperial fleet. The forces of naval aviation, which was entrusted with air cover for the Philippines, were also weakened. And although the Japanese industry produced a sufficient number of aircraft, the army and navy did not have time to train pilots. This led to the complete dominance of the Americans in the air. It was then that the commander of the first air fleet in the Philippines, Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, proposed the creation of groups of suicide pilots. Enishi saw that due to poor training, hundreds of Japanese pilots were dying without causing significant damage to the enemy.

America? No more your America..

Japanese military customs contributed to the obscurity in which Japanese fighter aces arrived. And not only for their opponents, but also for their own people, which they defended. For the Japanese military caste of that time, the idea of ​​publishing military victories was simply unthinkable, and any recognition of fighter aces in general was also unthinkable. Only in March 1945, when the final defeat of Japan became inevitable, did military propaganda allow the names of two fighter pilots, Shioki Sugita and Saburo Sakai, to be mentioned in an official report. Japanese military traditions recognized only dead heroes. For this reason, it was not customary in Japanese aviation to mark air victories on aircraft, although there were exceptions. The indestructible caste system in the army also forced outstanding aces pilots to fight almost the entire war in the rank of sergeants. When after 60 air victories and eleven years of service as a combat pilot, Saburō Sakai became an officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, setting a record for rapid promotion.

The Japanese tried their combat wings in the skies over China long before the start of World War II. Although they rarely encountered any serious resistance there, they nevertheless gained invaluable experience in actual combat shooting at air targets, and the self-confidence that arose as a result of the superiority of Japanese aircraft became an extremely important part of combat training.
The pilots who swept everything over Pearl Harbor sowed death over the Philippines and Far East, were outstanding combat pilots. They excelled both in the art of aerobatics and in aerial shooting, which brought them many victories. Especially the pilots of naval aviation went through such a harsh and strict school, like nowhere else in the world. For example, for the development of vision, a construction in the form of a box with telescopic windows directed to the sky was used. Novice pilots spent long hours inside such a box, peering into the sky. Their eyesight became so sharp that they could see the stars during the day.
The tactics used by the Americans in the early days of the war played into the hands of the Japanese pilots who were at the controls of their Zeros. At that time, the Zero fighter had no equal in close air "dog dumps", 20-mm cannons, maneuverability and low weight of the Zero aircraft became an unpleasant surprise for all allied aviation pilots who happened to meet them in air battles at the beginning of the war . Until 1942, in the hands of well-trained Japanese pilots, "Zero" was at the zenith of his glory, fighting with "Wildkets", "Aircobras" and "Tomahawks".
American carrier-based pilots were able to move on to more decisive actions only after they received the F-6F Hellket fighters, which were the best in their flight data, and with the advent of the F-4U Corsair, P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt "and the P-51 Mustang, Japan's air power gradually began to fade away.
The best of all Japanese fighter pilots, in terms of the number of victories won, was Hiroshi Nishizawa, who fought in the Zero fighter throughout the war. Japanese pilots called Nishizawa "The Devil" among themselves, since no other nickname could so well convey the manner of his flying and destroying the enemy. With a height of 173 cm, very tall for a Japanese, with a deathly pale face, he was a reserved, arrogant and secretive person who defiantly avoided the company of his comrades.
In the air, Nishizawa made his Zero do things that no Japanese pilot could repeat. Some of his willpower seemed to burst out and connect with the plane. In his hands, the limits of the machine's design meant absolutely nothing. He could surprise and delight even hardened Zero pilots with the energy of his flight.
One of a select few Japanese aces flying with the Lae Air Wing in New Guinea in 1942, Nishizawa was prone to bouts of dengue fever and was often ill with dysentery. But when he jumped into the cockpit of his plane, he threw off all his ailments and infirmities in one fell swoop like a cloak, immediately acquiring his legendary vision and the art of flying instead of an almost constant painful condition.
Nishizawa was credited with 103 air victories, according to other sources 84, but even the second figure may surprise anyone who is accustomed to the much lower results of American and English aces. However, Nishizawa took off with the firm intention of winning the war, and was such a pilot and shooter that he shot down the enemy almost every time he went into battle. None of those who fought with him doubted that Nishizawa shot down more than a hundred enemy aircraft. He was also the only World War II pilot to shoot down over 90 American aircraft.
On October 16, 1944, Nishizawa piloted an unarmed twin-engine transport aircraft with pilots on board to receive new aircraft at Clark Field in the Philippines. The heavy, clumsy machine was intercepted by the US Navy's Hellcats, and even Nishizawa's invincible skill and experience proved useless. After several fighter approaches, the transport aircraft, engulfed in flames, crashed down, taking the lives of the Devil and other pilots with it. It should be noted that despising death, the Japanese pilots did not take a parachute with them, but only a pistol or a samurai sword. Only when the loss of pilots became catastrophic did the command oblige the pilots to take parachutes with them.

The title of the second Japanese ace is the pilot of the First Class of Naval Aviation Shioki Sugita, who has 80 air victories. Sugita fought throughout the war until its recent months when American fighters began to fly already over the islands of Japan itself. At this time, he flew on a Sinden aircraft, which, in the hands of an experienced pilot, was not inferior to any Allied fighter, on April 17, 1945, Sugita was attacked during takeoff from the Kanoya air base, and his Shinden flashed like lightning crashed into the ground, becoming a funeral the fire of the second ace of Japan.
When human courage and endurance are remembered in connection with air battles, one cannot ignore the career of Lieutenant Saburo Sakai, the best of the Japanese aces who survived the war, who had 64 downed aircraft. Sakai began fighting back in China and ended the war after the surrender of Japan. One of his first victories in World War II was the destruction of a B-17 by US air hero Colin Kelly.
The story of his military life is vividly described in the autobiographical book "Samurai", which Sakai wrote in collaboration with journalist Fred Saido and American historian Martin Caidin. The aviation world knows the names of the legless ace Bader, the Russian pilot Maresyev, who lost his feet, and Sakai cannot be forgotten. The courageous Japanese flew final stage war with only one eye! Similar examples are very difficult to find, since vision is a vital element for a fighter pilot.
After one vicious skirmish with American planes over Guadalcanal, Sakai returned to Rabul almost blind, partially paralyzed, in a damaged aircraft. This flight is one of the outstanding examples of the struggle for life. The pilot recovered from his wounds and, despite the loss of his right eye, returned to service, again engaging in fierce battles with the enemy.
It is hard to believe that this one-eyed pilot, on the very eve of Japan's surrender, took off his Zero at night and shot down a B-29 Superfortress bomber. In his memoirs, he later admitted that he survived the war only because of the poor aerial shooting of many American pilots, who often simply missed him.
Another Japanese fighter pilot, Lieutenant Naoshi Kanno, became famous for his ability to intercept B-17 bombers, which instilled fear in many Japanese pilots with their size, structural strength and power of defensive fire. Kanno's personal score of 52 victories included 12 Flying Fortresses. The tactic he used against the B-17 consisted of a forward hemisphere dive attack followed by a roll, and was first tried early in the war in the South Pacific.
Kanno was killed during the final part of the defense of the Japanese islands. At the same time, the Germans credit Major Julius Meinberg (53 victories), who served in squadrons JG-53 and JG-2, with the invention and first use of the frontal attack of B-17 bombers.

Japanese fighter pilots boast at least one exception to the "Japanese character" in their ranks. Lieutenant Tamei Akamatsu, who served in the Japanese Imperial Navy, was a very peculiar person. He was something of a "white crow" for the entire fleet and a source of constant irritation and anxiety for the command. To his comrades in arms, he was a flying mystery, and to the girls of Japan, an adored hero. Distinguished by a stormy temper, he became a violator of all rules and traditions, and yet he managed to win a huge number of air victories. It was not uncommon for his squadron mates to see Akamatsu staggering across the area in front of the hangars towards his fighter, brandishing a bottle of sake. Indifferent to the rules and traditions, which seems incredible for the Japanese army, he refused to attend pilot briefings. Messages about upcoming flights were passed to him by a special messenger or by telephone so that he could wallow in the brothel he had chosen until the very last moment. A few minutes before takeoff, he could appear in an ancient beat-up car, rushing across the airfield and roaring like a demon.
He was denounced many times. After ten years of service, he was still a lieutenant. His unbridled habits on the ground doubled in the air, and were complemented by some special dexterous piloting and outstanding tactical skill. These are his character traits in aerial combat were so valuable that the command allowed Akamatsu to go to obvious violations of discipline.
And he brilliantly demonstrated his flying skills, piloting a heavy and difficult to fly Raiden fighter, designed to deal with heavy bombers. With a maximum speed of about 580 km / h, it was practically not suitable for aerobatics. Almost any fighter was superior in maneuver, and it was more difficult to engage in air combat on this machine than on any other aircraft. But, despite all these shortcomings, Akamatsu on his "Raiden" more than once attacked the formidable "Mustangs" and "Hellkets", and, as is known, shot down at least a dozen of these fighters in air battles. His swagger, arrogance and arrogance on the ground could not allow him to reasonably and objectively recognize the superiority of American aircraft. It is possible that only in this way he managed to survive in air battles, not to mention his multiple victories.
Akamatsu is one of the few best Japanese fighter pilots who managed to survive the war with 50 aerial victories to his credit. After the end of hostilities, he went into the restaurant business in the city of Nagoya.
The brave and aggressive pilot, non-commissioned officer Kinsuke Muto, shot down no less than four huge B-29 bombers. When these aircraft first appeared in the air, the Japanese barely recovered from the shock caused by the power and fighting qualities. After the B-29, with its tremendous speed and lethal force of defensive fire, brought war to the islands of Japan itself, it became an American moral and technical victory, which the Japanese could not really resist until the very end of the war. Only a few pilots could boast of shooting down B-29s, while Muto had several such aircraft on his account.
In February 1945, the intrepid pilot took to the air alone in his old Zero fighter to take on 12 F-4U Corsairs strafing targets in Tokyo. The Americans could hardly believe their eyes when, flying like a demon of death, Muto set fire to two Corsairs one after the other in short bursts, demoralizing and upsetting the order of the remaining ten. The Americans were still able to pull themselves together and began to attack the lone Zero. But brilliant aerobatics and aggressive tactics allowed Muto to stay on top of the situation and avoid damage until he had exhausted all the ammunition. By this time, two more Corsairs had crashed down, and the surviving pilots realized that they were dealing with one of the best pilots in Japan. The archives show that these four Corsairs were the only American aircraft shot down over Tokyo that day.
By 1945, the Zero was essentially left far behind by all the Allied fighters that attacked Japan. In June 1945, Muto still continued to fly the Zero, remaining loyal to him until the very end of the war. He was shot down during an attack on the Liberator, a couple of weeks before the end of the war.
The Japanese rules for confirming victories were similar to those of the Allies, but applied very loosely. As a result, many personal accounts of Japanese pilots may be in question. Due to the desire to reduce weight to a minimum, they did not install photo machine guns on their aircraft, and therefore did not have photographic evidence to confirm their victories. However, the likelihood of exaggeration and attributing false victories to oneself was quite small. Since this did not promise any awards, distinctions, thanks or promotion, as well as fame, there were no motives for "inflated" data on downed enemy aircraft.
The Japanese had many pilots with twenty or fewer victories to their credit, quite a few with victories between 20 and 30, and a small number standing next to Nishizawa and Sugita.
The Japanese pilots, with all their valor and brilliant successes, were shot down by the pilots of the American aviation, which gradually gained its power. American pilots were armed with the best equipment, had the best coordination of actions, excellent communications and excellent combat training.

The popularized and highly distorted image of the Japanese kamikaze, formed in the minds of Europeans, has little to do with who they really were. We imagine kamikaze as a fanatical and desperate warrior, with a red bandage around his head, a man with an angry look behind the controls of an old plane, rushing towards the target, shouting "banzai!". Japanese warriors since the time of the samurai considered death literally as part of life.

They got used to the fact of death and were not afraid of its approach.

Educated and experienced pilots flatly refused to go to the kamikaze squads, referring to the fact that they simply had to stay alive in order to train new fighters who were destined to become suicide bombers.

Thus, the more young people who sacrificed themselves, the younger were the recruits who took their places. Many were practically teenagers, not even 17 years old, who had a chance to prove their loyalty to the empire and prove themselves as “real men”.

Kamikaze recruited from poorly educated young guys, the second or third boys in families. This selection was due to the fact that the first (i.e. eldest) boy in the family usually became the heir to the fortune and therefore did not fall into the military sample.

Kamikaze pilots received a form to fill out and took five oath points:

• The soldier is obliged to fulfill his obligations.
• A soldier is obliged to observe the rules of decency in his life.
• The soldier is obliged to highly revere the heroism of the military forces.
• A soldier must be a highly moral person.
• A soldier must live a simple life.

But kamikaze were not only air suicide bombers, they also acted under water.

The idea of ​​creating suicide torpedoes was born in the minds of the Japanese military command after a brutal defeat in the battle of Midway Atoll. While Europe was unfolding known to the world drama, a completely different war was going on in the Pacific Ocean. In 1942, the Japanese Imperial Navy decided to attack Hawaii from the tiny Midway Atoll, the extreme western group of the Hawaiian archipelago. The atoll was home to a US airbase, which the Japanese army decided to launch its large-scale offensive from, destroying it.

But the Japanese miscalculated. The Battle of Midway was one of the main failures and the most dramatic episode in that part. the globe. During the attack, the imperial fleet lost four large aircraft carriers and many other ships, but accurate data on Japanese casualties have not been preserved. However, the Japanese never really considered their soldiers, but even without that, the loss greatly demoralized the military spirit of the fleet.

This defeat marked the beginning of a series of Japanese failures at sea, and the military command had to invent alternative ways of waging war. Real patriots should have appeared, brainwashed, with a gleam in their eyes and not afraid of death. So there was a special experimental unit of underwater kamikaze. These suicide bombers were not much different from aircraft pilots, their task was identical - sacrificing themselves to destroy the enemy.

Underwater kamikazes used kaiten torpedoes to carry out their mission under water, which means “the will of heaven” in translation. In fact, the kaiten was a symbiosis of a torpedo and a small submarine. He worked on pure oxygen and was able to reach speeds of up to 40 knots, thanks to which he could hit almost any ship of that time. A torpedo from the inside is an engine, a powerful charge and a very compact place for a suicide pilot. At the same time, it was so narrow that even by the standards of small Japanese, there was a catastrophic lack of space. On the other hand, what difference does it make when death is inevitable.

Midway operation

Tower of the main caliber of the battleship MUTSU (Mutsu)

1 Japanese kaiten at Camp Dealy, 1945 3. Kaitens in drydock, Kure, October 19, 1945. 4, 5. A submarine sunk by American aircraft during the Okinawa campaign.

Directly in front of the face of the kamikaze is a periscope, next to it is the speed switch, which essentially regulates the oxygen supply to the engine. At the top of the torpedo there was another lever responsible for the direction of movement. The dashboard was crammed with all sorts of devices - fuel and oxygen consumption, pressure gauge, clock, depth gauge and so on. At the pilot's feet there is a valve for letting seawater into the ballast tank to stabilize the weight of the torpedo. It was not so easy to control a torpedo, besides, the training of pilots left much to be desired - schools appeared spontaneously, but just as spontaneously they were destroyed by American bombers. Initially, kaiten were used to attack enemy ships moored in bays. A carrier submarine with kaitens fixed outside (from four to six pieces) detected enemy ships, built a trajectory (literally turned around relative to the location of the target), and the submarine captain gave the last order to the suicide bombers. Through a narrow pipe, the suicide bombers penetrated into the cabin of the kaiten, battened down the hatches and received orders by radio from the captain of the submarine. The kamikaze pilots were completely blind, they did not see where they were going, because it was possible to use the periscope for no more than three seconds, since this led to the risk of detecting a torpedo by the enemy.

At first, kaitens terrified the American fleet, but then imperfect equipment began to malfunction. Many suicide bombers did not swim to the target and suffocated from lack of oxygen, after which the torpedo simply sank. A little later, the Japanese improved the torpedo by equipping it with a timer, leaving no chance for either the kamikaze or the enemy. But at the very beginning, kaiten claimed humanity. The torpedo was provided with an ejection system, but it did not work in the most efficient way, or rather, did not work at all.

At high speed, no kamikaze could safely eject, so this was abandoned in later designs. Very frequent raids by submarines with kaitens led to the fact that the devices rusted and failed, since the body of the torpedo was made of steel no more than six millimeters thick. And if the torpedo sank too deep to the bottom, then the pressure simply flattened the thin body, and the kamikaze died without due heroism.

It was possible to use kaitens more or less successfully only at the very beginning. Thus, following the results of naval battles, the official propaganda of Japan announced that 32 American ships were sunk, including aircraft carriers, battleships, cargo ships and destroyers. But these figures are considered too exaggerated. By the end of the war, the American Navy had significantly increased its combat power, and it was increasingly difficult for kaiten pilots to hit targets. Large combat units in the bays were reliably guarded, and it was very difficult to approach them imperceptibly even at a depth of six meters, the kaitens also had no opportunity to attack the ships scattered in the open sea - they simply could not withstand long swims.

The defeat at Midway pushed the Japanese to desperate steps in blind revenge on the American fleet. Kaiten torpedoes were a crisis solution, which imperial army I had high hopes, but they didn't come true. Kaitens had to solve the most important task - to destroy enemy ships, and no matter what the cost, however, the farther, the less effective their use in hostilities was seen. A ridiculous attempt to irrationally use the human resource led to the complete failure of the project. War is over

Japanese boat Type A of Second Lieutenant Sakamaki at low tide on a reef off the coast of Oahu, December 1941

Japanese dwarf boats Type C on the American-captured island of Kiska, Aleutian Islands, September 1943

Japanese landing ship Type 101 (S.B. No. 101 Type) in the harbor of Kure after the surrender of Japan. 1945

Aircraft damaged transport Yamazuki Mari and pygmy Submarine Type C abandoned on the shores of Guadalcanal

Midget boat Koryu Type D at the shipyard Yokosuka Naval Base, September 1945

In 1961, the Americans raised the boat (Type A), which sank in December 1941 in the Pearl Harbor canal. The hatches of the boat are open from the inside, a number of publications report that the mechanic of the boat Sasaki Naoharu escaped and was captured

Japanese suicide bomber pilot

Toward the end of World War II, the allied countries of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis, anticipating defeat, tried to correct the situation in their favor with the help of effective weapons capable of inflicting significant damage to the enemy. Germany relied on V-2 missiles, while the Japanese used a simpler method, mobilizing suicide pilots - kamikaze - to solve this problem.

There is no doubt that Japanese warriors have been considered the most skillful and fearless in the world for centuries. Part of the reason for this behavior was the adherence to bushido, the moral code of the samurai, which prescribes unconditional obedience to the emperor, whose divinity stems from great ancestors who had special physical and spiritual properties of the sun goddess.

Seppuku is hara-kiri

This cult of divine origin was introduced by Jimmu in 660 BC, who proclaimed himself the first emperor of Japan. And somewhere during the Heian era, in the 9th-12th centuries, an important component of the code appeared - the rite of seppuku, better known by the second name "hara-kiri" (literally - "cutting the stomach"). It was suicide in case of insulting honor, committing an unworthy act, in the event of the death of his overlord, and subsequently by the verdict of the court.

The fact that in the process of suicide it was not the heart that was affected, but the stomach was torn open, is simply explained: according to the philosophy of Buddhism, in particular, the teachings of the Zen sect, not the heart, but the abdominal cavity is considered as the main central point of life of a person and thus the seat of life.

Harakiri acquires a massive character during internecine wars, when the opening of the abdomen begins to prevail over other methods of suicide. Very often, the bushi resorted to hara-kiri, so as not to fall into the hands of enemies when the troops of their clan were defeated. With the same samurai, at the same time, they made amends with their master for losing the battle, thus avoiding shame. One of the most famous examples of a warrior committing hara-kiri in the event of a defeat is Masashige Kusunoki's seppuku. losing
battle, Masashige and 60 of his devoted friends performed the hara-kiri rite.

Seppuku or hara-kiri is a common phenomenon among Japanese samurai.

The description of this procedure is a separate topic, so it’s worth mentioning one more important point. In 1878, after the fall of the last of the shoguns, the military-feudal rulers of Japan, who had ruled the country for six centuries, power was concentrated in the hands of Emperor Meiji, who headed for the construction of capitalism. And a year later, one of the richest people in Japan, a certain Mitsuri Toyama, together with his influential friends, creates the Genyosha (Black Ocean) secret society, which set itself the goal of creating a military-political doctrine of Japan based on the official Shinto religion. Being an enlightened man, Toyama
saw in seppuku a relic of the past, but introduced a new meaning into this order: "suicide as an example of fidelity to duty in the name of the prosperity of the Motherland."

Japanese kamikaze pilots

However, at the beginning of the 20th century and for another four decades, the ideology of seppuku turned out to be unclaimed. But with might and main earned the second principle of the doctrine of "Genyosha": "The gods patronize Japan. Therefore, its people, territory and every institution associated with the gods surpasses all others on earth. All this lays on sacred Japan
mission is to unite the world under one roof so that humanity can enjoy the benefits of being under the rule of a divine emperor.”

Indeed, the victory soon followed. Russo-Japanese War, successful military operations in Manchuria against the Kuomintang of Chiang Kai Shek and the People's Liberation Army of Mao Zedong, a crushing blow against the Americans in Pearl Harbor, the occupation of the countries of Southeast Asia. But already in 1942, after the lost battle of the imperial fleet in the naval battle near Midway Atoll, it became clear that the Japanese military machine began to malfunction, and two years after successful ground operations
American troops and their allies in Tokyo started talking about the possible defeat of the imperial army.

That's when a drowning man clutches at straws, General base proposed to recall the principle of hara-kiri in a slightly modified version: to create units of suicide pilots who are ready to voluntarily give their lives for the emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun. This idea was put forward by the commander of the First Air Fleet, Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, on October 19, 1944: “I don’t think there is any other way how to bring down the Zero armed with a 250-ton bomb on the Americans.”

The admiral had in mind the A6M Zero carrier-based fighters, and a few days later, the quickly created groups of suicide pilots flew out on the first and last mission in their lives.

The group got the name "Kamikaze" - "Divine Wind" - not by chance. Twice in 1274 and 1281, the armada of the Mongol Khan Kublai tried to approach the coast of Japan with an aggressive goal. And both times the plans of the aggressors were thwarted by typhoons that scattered ships across the ocean. For this, the grateful Japanese called their natural savior "Divine Wind".

The first kamikaze attack took place on October 21, 1944. A suicide bomber struck the Australian flagship, the cruiser Australia. True, the bomb itself did not explode, but the superstructure with the ship's cabin was destroyed, as a result of which 30 people died, including the ship's commander. The second attack on the cruiser, made four days later, was more successful - the ship was seriously damaged and forced to go to the docks for repairs.

Japanese kamikaze in World War II

We will not dwell on the enumeration of sorties by kamikaze detachments, which lasted a little more than six months. According to the Japanese, during this time 81 ships were sunk and 195 were damaged. The Americans and allies were more modest in assessing losses - 34 and 288 watercraft of various classes, respectively: from aircraft carriers to auxiliary vessels. But here it is worth noting one interesting feature. The Japanese, one might say, reversed Suvorov's commandment: "Fight not by numbers, but by skill", relying precisely on numerical superiority. However, the air defense systems of the American naval formations were quite effective, so the use of radars
coupled with the actions of more modern carrier-based interceptor fighters of the Corsair or Mustang type, as well as anti-aircraft artillery, gave only one out of ten kamikaze a chance to complete their combat mission.

Japanese kamikaze pilots - students before a sortie

Therefore, very soon the Japanese were faced with the problem of how to make up for the loss of aircraft. There were no problems with suicide volunteers, but the means of delivering live bombs was in short supply. Therefore, at first it was necessary to reactivate and put into operation the A5M Zero fighters of the previous generation, equipped with low-power engines of the 1920s model. And in parallel, start developing a cheap but effective "flying torpedo". Such a sample, called "Yokosuka", was created quite quickly. It was a wooden glider with shortened wings. A charge with a capacity of 1.2 tons of ammonal was placed in the bow of the apparatus, in the middle part there was a cockpit, and in the tail - a jet engine. The landing gear was missing, since the airframe was attached under the belly of the Gingo heavy bomber, which delivered the torpedo to the attack area.

Reaching given point, the "aviator" unhooked the glider, and he already continued to fly in free mode. Having reached the goal, if possible, planning directly to the limit
low altitude, which provided him with stealth from radar, opposition from fighters and ship anti-aircraft guns, the pilot turned on the jet engine, the glider soared into the sky and from there dived at the target.

However, according to the Americans, the strikes of these air torpedoes were ineffective and rarely reached the target. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Yokosuka received the nickname “Baka” from the Americans, which means “fool” in translation. And there were very good reasons for this.

The fact is that in a relatively short period of time, professional pilots who flew as suicide pilots had already ended their lives in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, so the survivors were used only as pilots of Zero fighters, escorting bombers with a human torpedo . And then a set of people wishing to "commit hara-kiri" was announced in the name of the triumph of the Japanese nation. Oddly enough, this mobilization was received with a bang. Moreover, the decision to become suicide bombers was mainly expressed by university students, where the dogmas of "Genyosha" were actively promoted.

Kamikaze volunteers

For relatively a short time the number of yellow-mouthed youths ready to give up their lives rose to 2525, which was three times the number of aircraft available. However, by that time, the Japanese tried to create another aircraft, also made of wood, but starting with the help of an improved
jet engine. Moreover, to reduce weight with the landing gear separating after takeoff - after all, the bombing aircraft did not need to land.

Nevertheless, the number of volunteers wishing to join the ranks of the kamikaze continued to grow rapidly. Someone was really attracted by a sense of patriotism, someone by a desire to glorify their family with a feat. Indeed, not only the suicide bombers themselves, for whom they prayed in churches, but also the parents of those who did not return from the mission were surrounded by honor. Moreover, clay tablets with the names of the dead kamikaze are still kept in the Yasunuki temple, which the parishioners continue to worship. Yes, even today teachers in history lessons talk about the romantic rites that the heroes went through when they received a “one-way ticket”.

A cup of heated sake vodka, the ceremony of putting on a hachimaki - a white bandage on the forehead, a symbol of immortality, after takeoff - heading to Mount Kaimon and saluting her. However, not only young people were ready to sacrifice their lives. Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki and Rear Admiral Masadumi Arilsa, commanders of the air fleets, also went on their last sortie, wearing hachimaki.

Amazingly, some of the kamikaze managed to survive. For example, non-commissioned officer Yamamura found himself on the verge of death three times. The first time a Gingo transporter was shot down by American fighters, the suicide pilot was rescued by fishermen. A week later, another "Gingo" hit a storm front and was forced to return to base in accordance with instructions. Finally, during the third flight, the torpedo release system did not work. And then the war ended. The day after the signing of the act of surrender, the "father of kamikaze" Admiral Takijiro Onishi wrote a farewell letter. In it, he thanked all the pilots who responded to his call, and ended the message with a three-line in
haiku style: "Now everything is done, and I can sleep for millions of years." Then he sealed the envelope and committed hara-kiri over himself.

Japanese kamikaze on torpedoes

In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that kamikaze pilots were not the only voluntary suicide bombers (“tokkotai”), there were other units in the Japanese army, for example, in the navy. For example, the Kaiten (Path to Paradise) unit, in which ten groups of man-torpedoes were formed by the beginning of 1945.

Torpedo, Kaiten units, in these Japanese kamikaze torpedoes died

The tactics of using man-torpedoes was as follows: having found an enemy ship, the carrier submarine occupied a certain position along its route, after which the suicide bombers landed in torpedoes. Orienting with the help of a periscope, the commander fired one or more torpedoes, having previously set the course for the suicide bombers.
After passing a certain distance, the driver of the torpedo surfaced and quickly examined the water area. This maneuver was calculated so that the torpedo was on the forward heading angles
enemy ship and at a distance of 400-500 meters from it. In this position, the ship practically could not evade the torpedo, even when it detected it.